At its best, "Oxymoron" showcases ScHoolboy Q's dark rhymes and ear for production, but a handful of ill fitting singles prevent it from being a superior album.

Somewhere between (or most likely before) the release of his own Habits & Contradictions album and Ab-Soul’s Control System, ScHoolboy Q embraced everything that accompanied releasing an album in conjunction with the major label system. On his fellow Top Dawg Entertainment member’s “SOPA,” Q rhymed, “Ever see an ex-student get a half a ticket / Think I’m lying, just ask Jimmy that check was mine as soon as we signed.” Expectations were raised, Interscope’s considerable marketing push was merged with the grassroots approach that netted Habits & Contradictions a #17 spot on Billboard magazine’s Independent Albums chart and singles were released.

The end result, finds Q employing a familiar mix of dark, introspective rhymes peppered with some youthful irreverence over top-notch production. Oxymoron is built upon the concept of duality. When Q spits, “How can they say feeling good is an addiction / But the world is full of shit so I don’t listen / In fact we livin’ to die is a contradiction,” on the title track, it’s not so much a rhetorical question as a manifesto for the album.

As a bar-for-bar emcee, ScHoolboy Q has a seemingly endless supply of rhyme cadences—each with their own syncopated rhythm. But whereas “Hands on the Wheel” was reckless fun that didn’t really need an explanation, misfires like “Collard Greens” have all the earmarks of a single but an execution that feels forced. A melodic hook and an intricate enough rhyme pattern power it, but the actual content isn’t particularly inventive, as Q raps, “Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie some / Freak the freckles off your face, frenchie freakin’ swappin’ tongues / Click my link and spread your buns / Lose your denim, make it numb / Blow it baby, no Saddam / Icky-icky-icky-icky…”

Similar moments are seemingly the result of production that isn’t bad per se, but ill fitting. “Los Awesome” finds Pharrell reverting back to 2003-era Neptunes, polyphonic ringtone style production. And while Jay Rock snarls through a fierce 16, Skateboard P doesn’t provide much of a pocket for Q to fall into. This becomes increasingly clear, when ScHoolboy ventures into the familiar territory of dark subject matter in which the album’s best tracks are cloaked. There are times when Q perfectly pinpoints the sources of systematic, black male rage (“Hoover Street”) while simultaneously articulating such rage (“The Purge”), focusing it inward or self-medicating to escape it (“Prescription/Oxymoron”).

In many ways, Oxymoron delivers exactly as advertised. It’s an ominous project that also needs a few radio reaches to provide ScHoolboy Q a platform to achieve mainstream success. You want a guy like Q to bring home a gold or platinum plaque, but will you endure the strategic placement of some Top 40 bait to see it happen?

In 2014 it’s not realistic to expect a major label album to be exclusively comprised of the dark material found on Oxymoron’s stellar moments; that would essentially give you Joe Budden’s Mood Muzik. But the handful of ill fitting songs presumably positioned as singles tarnish Q’s overall presentation, and they can feel like excess baggage. Listeners in search of lighter fare will likely gravitate toward “Studio” and “What They Want,” unintentionally reducing tracks like “Collard Greens,” “Los Awesome,” “Man of the Year” and “Hell of a Night” to filler. Ultimately the good moments are on par with what will be considered 2014’s high-water marks, and if held they weren’t held to the high standards of Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions, Q’s low points would be acceptable from another rapper. Given TDE’s ever-increasing appeal, Oxymoron isn’t quite an elite offering, but it meets the difficult task of attracting casual fans without straying too far from the formula that attracted ScHoolboy Q’s core audience.

nn

Sayeed

Good album with some real gems, but has quite a few where the production and Q's rapping don't work. As an album it's not put together very well, but does demonstrate that Q has talent and looking forward to more solo stuff from him

Arian

Q called it a classic I think its a good album but not even close to being a classic. With that said there were alot of good songs but there were a few mediocre radio friendly tracks which brought the album like Man Of The Year and Hell Of a night.The Rest was good or great Oxymoron/Perscription was spot on.The Purge,Hoover Street,Los Awesome and Blind Threats were amazing I enjoyed the album I would give it a 3.5 or 4

Anonymous

Y-IT

Above average album, decent production, a lot of throwaway hooks and forgettable songs, but balanced out with standout tracks like "gangsta", "collard greens", "prescription", and "los awesome" not very substantive like gkmc but that is not q. The album doesn't really flow together nicely either. When Q takes his time and writes good lyrics with the intense flow of his, it's awesome, but some of this album felt really thrown together and lazy. 7/10.

Soulo Diego

This album was missing one track... Druggy's Wit Hoes Pt. III (feat. Ab-Soul).
Nonetheless, this album feels like a flop only because of the expectation drawn in from Kendrick. Those who have followed Q will feel that H&C and arguably Setbacks are better, however, the direction Q is going with Oxymoron is a solid effort.
I was expecting a least two "Blessed" or "Birds & The Bees" type tunes, however, "Blind Threats" does hit the spot though.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Danay Tsegaye

jp60

This weeks album is Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q. I gave it a 3.5/4 out of 5. I am not a fan of his lyrical style and to make matters worst I am not a fan of traditional LA rappers. Dude put alot of work on this album. I see what he was gonig for on most of the songs. His message isnt want I subscribe to but its a REAL reality we keep pretending doesn't exist. He got the 3.5 cause he feel WAY short of Kendrick Lamar's first album but he stayed true to who he is as an artist.

Vinnie-D

AnDoni

Anonymous

u r idiots
there is nothing good except collard greens on this album
kendricks verse is better than the whole rest of the album and it is not even that damn good
nothing impressive lyrical wise or musically at all
not a good album at all
control system was the best to come out from these cats since sec 80
GKMC didn't hold the test of time already not remembering it

tdeffect.com

Anonymous

pliz

Azup

Wow, I can't believe Hip-Hop dx only gave this a 3.5. This is one of the most unique artistic albums we had since GKMC especially in mainstream Hip-Hop. I understand the album doesn't play out like a story like GKMC, but maybe it wasn't meant to. This album deserves atleast a four. There are some songs on here that reach for commercial success, but they are done right they are still artistic and creative like "Collard Greens" the beat on that song it like nothing else right now. Plus GKMC had songs that reached for commercial success also. So to give this a 3.5 and to give that a 4.5 is straight hypocritical.

Mega the God

So true! Ab soul is the best of Tde by far. He actually is the only one with real creative songs, powerful punch lines and real metaphors. But this oxy album is hot. But since it'snot that llyrical they bash it. Thing is, neither was good kid madd city lol. What real lyrics were there? Now school boy is basic. But he has realistic bars at what he lived and I'm mad they always compare this album to Kendrick. When I like this album better personally. It relates more to me being from the hood and being hood involved.

Richie

james

School boy M

Anonymous

Q is hard to grasp for me. His delivery style often doesn't match his content, to the point where a lot of it just comes out as jibberish. The album's production is good, just not sure it's worth buying.

Anonymous

RealNiggaG

Anonymous

SchoolBoy Q

Yo, I appreciate the love and the hate, y'all. Thanks for purchasing my album. To the haters, I'm working my next album. I promise you, it's like nothing you've ever heard before! The guests on the album gonna be crazy! We got Metta World Peace, the homie Justin Beiber, my bitch Katy Perry, John Mayer, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Snooki & JWoww from Jersey Shore and of course, the beautiful & talented Miley Cyrus! This is sure to be a wonderful album you won't forget! Alright, back to recording & drinking. One.

Lou T

Ace P

it wasn't Setbacks or HnC but OXYMORON was straight Q! if you want mainstream tracks go listen to Bieber. ScHoolboy Q didn't deviate from his style of weird random flows and even if the beats were wack or not you gotta put the whole album in perspective. It isn't the BEST ALBUM EVER, but its a pretty damn good album, I agree Setbacks and HnC were classics but he had to do things differently this time since it wasn't an indy release. That being said he stuck to his roots and kept it original Q!!! disagree or not OXYMORON is up there with his others!!!

joshua fraser

ryan

definitely disappointed. i don't think it was a terrible album, as there were some good tracks but i just expected way more after setback and habits and contradictions. those first two albums were classics with much more versatile songs. this album felt all the same lyrically, and most of the lyrical content was pretty boring. even the production wasn't that great but he definitely tried to play it mainstream rather than being himself. BORING.

sam snead

quit calling things that are good, classics. Hnc is a good and entertaining album, not a classic. It starts out with some dope tracks, looses steam around the middle with a bunch of tracks about hoes,partying and shit, then picks up towards the end of the album. HnC is a good album, not a classic

Tomas

Jeffc1

Garbage, and rated as such. Maybe Q will take note from the fans of hip hop. You cant pay websites/artists/blogs to promote your music, then put out a subpar album with generic trap beats and bullshit crossover attempts.

HAH

itopia

personally I think this album is a solid effort, could have been better at points though
one thing I thought I would never say about any album is that the song with 2 chainz is one of my favourites on the album so for that Q probably deserves 4 out of 5

Anonymous

dissapointed with a few of the tracks but not the said tracks dx dislikes, That fuckin garbage wi tyler the talentless fuckwitt on just takes 2 stars off for a start, also track 2 wtf is that n that other song where its all distorted ... just shite .. no need

Ace P

Taviizilla

sick beats, good listen for any gym goer, has never been a top notch rhymesayer but has never NOT made good music.
All the tracks listed at the end of the article are the best ones lol, studio, what they want, collard greens, man of the year etc.
4/5 production qual. 2/5 lyrically

Really???

The reviewer said "Top notch production"??? Where?? production was wack but definitely nothing to that stands out and danm sure nut top[ notch. As for Q's lyrics well I will give'em credit for a variety of flows but other than that ya average I'm an ex drug dealer rhymes without the Pusha T skill or wordplay. TDE 1/1 on major releases in my book. If cats still brought CD this definitely be a weed tray in my house. 5.5/10

redrum

Vic

All That Jazz

I think the biggest mistake people are making is trying to compare Schoolboy Q to Kendrick. Seems like everybody is expecting a GKMC part 2 when Q is a totally different artist from Kendrick. I think this is a solid album from Q. I think the features worked and the beats are on point. And if you listen he talks about some real shit. 4/5 easily for me.

hi

Brent Pereira

Sam Snead

I listened to it about 4 times, it grows on you a little bit though, I didn't think is was whack in the first place. Sequence and mood of the album is kind of all over the place and some material was recycled. It has some entertaining moments, kind of wish the album was more TDE heavy on features. I think the collabo part of this genre is over used and sometimes not needed with every artist under the sun. 3.75-4/5.

Anonymous

Anonymous

C'mon y'all lets be serious here and access this album that we've all waited along time for..
The beats were good and unique which is good, at least we can bump it in the car. As for Lyrics and Content.. C'mon lets all be honest, this shit is pretty average. He's not really saying much that coherent or memorable. The adlibs and and background nonsense really messes with the vibe.
I was a fan of Setbacks and Habits and Contradictions so yes I was looking out for this. But Let's be honest I know yall like TDE and Kendrick or whatever but this album was really basic. It sounds like something someone could've handed me on the street

Anonymous

BIG 18TH STREET GANG, E'Z UP TO THE HOMIES WORLDWIDE!

AH SHIT, NOT ANOTHER WACK ASS ALBUM BY A WACK ASS RAPPER. THIS TYPE OF RAP IS FOR BABOSOS! The "Break the Bank" beat by Alchemist is dope tho but ALC shouldn't have wasted it on this clown. This shit album gets 1 Star for the one nice beat by Alchemist.

anonymous

your a dumb f*** like buddy you obviously dig eminems new shit or ja rule or some other whack s*** like f**kin snoop lion like your a joke man chirping school boy like buuuuuuud ur dumb guys in the process of saving hip hop and you just come out like some premature ejaculation and start blurting sh** that you dont even know bud like ur fuc**d

18thStreetFags

Anonymous

Anonymous

way overhyped. I was really looking forward to this album but was really disappointed with it in the end. It ended up being an angry album with a bunch of bass thrown in. I have only listened to the album once over so it might just need to grow on me, but from the first listen, not too impressed.

Anonymous

Stevoe

This album was lots of hype and some re-releasing of some tracks that were hot but have been around for awhile. Kind of lazy for your first shot at the big leagues. It has some interesting material though, so it's a fair and solid 3/5

Anonymous

Anonymous

upstate90

ok so honestly what was so ground breaking about good gkmc? it was just like section 80, o.d. etc...lyrics isnt the only thing that makes you a rapper especially if your a tad bit boring, ppl got to realize that one of the main reasons ppl appeal to hiphop is the edge of hiphop aswell as the struggle and i feel like q does that pretty well

Anonymous

gbaby

Section.80 was a disappointment? You're crazy that's his best album it has a concept to it too and the beats are amazing. Its not mainstream album like GKMC which is a mainstream album. He reached out to get a bigger audience on GKMC while remaining true to him self. On Section. 80 he didn't care who was listening he was just focused on making a great album

G

Valid points! I disagree about Sec 80 tho! Sec 80, in my opinion had waaayyyyy better/interesting beats. It had me coming back much more than GKMC. Kendrick's supreme flow and creativity goes without saying. I thought GKMC was a great album but, most of the beats were boring to me, even though it was extremely cohesive as far as how it flowed with the story and sonically. Whoever executive produced GKMC deserved an award.
Q's album tho... Oxymoron was definitely a perfect title. I know I don't like it but, i'm conflicted because I really like some of the tracks, and I keep coming back to em'. I would say not a bad first album, he can learn from it and grow

Anonymous

Anonymous

There's not a single bad song on GKMC. Production is near perfection, verses are tight AND guest features are good (even Drake sounds good, which I thought to be impossible!). Not sure if Kendrick can make as good album as GKMC is.
Section.80 was a disappointment though, I bought it after I heard GKMC.

Real Talk

Craig C

THIS!
"Champagne Papi Life:
SchoolBoy Q: Worst lyricist in TDE. SZA spits better. He tries too hard to be gangsta and was never really in the streets like that. He's feels himself too much which will eventually lead to his own self-destruction and fall out with TDE.
Ab-Soul: A whinny overrated bitch. He whines about his album not being released and whines about his girlfriend taking her own life on multiple songs on other peoples albums. Just make a tribute song and shut the fuck up Soul, we don't care anymore. Eventually he'll leave TDE and will blame his lack of sales on other people instead of his bitch made self.
Jay Rock: Very underrated as a lyricist, but has no personality, he's just the hard nigga in the crew. He'll never sell because he brings nothing new to the table in terms of style.
Kendrick: Definitely talented, but he's bound to fall the fuck off. His mixtapes and albums are stellar, but he'll plummet in the sales department next album and I believe the quality of his material might drop off (i.e., will eventually start selling out). He has nowhere to go but down.
Isiah Rashad: Dude is talented, but he'll always just be percieved by most as the guy who is kind of like Kendrick. He'll never have any lasting commercial success because the world doesn't need 2 Kendricks."

SS

Milwilly

I agree with you totally. This is a gangsta rap album. In fact my favorite track on the album is Gangsta. Perfect way to start the album. I was surprised at how hard it is given the singles (Collard Greens, Man of the Year, and Break the Bank).

d

fghj 55

JD

I feel that maybe this review was a tad bit harsh, yet very true at some moments. one thing i have to agree with was the comment about "Collard Greens" & "Hell of a night". the first being a very fun single that many people like regardless of the radio success that it didn't achieve and the later possibly being his next single and a very big one at that. i feel that this album will resonate with the listener after time just like schoolboy q's other bodies of work. lets just keep it real he isn't a lyrical rapper at all and nothing he says is incredibally wow on the factor of lycrism. what IS incredible about Q is how he keeps it real with his roots, his life, his drug addiction, his gang, and his point of view on life in general. "Blind Threats" is sick! and even if you make him more commercial with "What They Want" you still have a side of Q that shows he is versitile enough to spit on track with a wu tang legend and someone that is tearing the main stream radio up as well. My first listen i didn't like the album much and after a good 2 or 3 listens it felt like he was possibly telling parts of my life story. as far as kendrick Lamar and gkmc when i heard that album i didn't like it at first either. that album literally had to grow on me and everyone else that listened to it as well. thats what albums do.. they grow on you. have you ever met a person and fell in love with them on the first day? i think not lol. whose to say that stuff happens with albums? and also the reason why i would say Q has a more successful album is the fact that he has so many songs he could perform unlike kendrick that performed on NBA all star weekend and could only perform dont kill my vibe and good kidd which aren't really suitable for telivision in the first place. lets get it straight music is indeed for the listener but why put something out if youre not aiming for mainstream success? and to compare the q album to kendrick isn't fair. kendricks album is more of a conscious rap album and schoolboys album is a gangsta rap album. now a fair comparision you never heard anyone compare Big L to common right? okay then.. please be fair with the reviews and by fair i mean listen to the album over 3 times and if that doesnt work to avoid bias have more than one person review the album.. peace - JD

Anonymous

Great Track!

Sadly enough this album just sounds like an excellent mixtape. Doesn't have the structural concepts and records for it too meet album standards so a 3.5/5 is actually a really good rating for it. H&C had it and maybe the hype and constant push backs made this album a tad bit underwhelming, but it just couldn't take the whole "TDE punch" (no pun intended). This was suppose to put gangster rap back on the map yet there's filler tracks (Including the radio singles: Collard Greens, Man of The Year, Hell of a Night) at every corner. Highlights would include: The Purge, Prescription/Oxymoron, Break The Bank (mostly due to the amazing production of none other than The Alchemist himself), & Blind Threats. Maybe if it were shorter in length, including the deluxe editions (Target and iTunes) it could've held more listen ability but hey it's a good project none the less but it won't "break boundaries" or change the west coast sound or rebirth it in any way possible.

Anonymous

Mr. Tibbs

At the end of the day its not amazing, its not bad, but its not Kendrick and thats the problem the TDE fans are having. Q's message is a little rougher than when Kendrick tells it or even Ab Soul. I didnt learn anything about Q. as an individual and I cant really say who this album was made for. Q has songs taylored for the radio and the rest of the album is pretty gangsta and flashy. After about a couple of weeks this album will be forgotten.

Chill Bro

Oxymoron, 4/5. I'm glad Q kept it g and didn't copy Kendrick's novel-esque type album sequence, although it would have helped him tell a better story.I still think he hits his mark on OXY and really wish Top Dawg and dem did a better job putting it on out time so ALL the content was fresh.However, Hoover Street is definitely slept on! some Cypress Hill type shit. Alchemist goes in on this album and i see Break the Bank being one of those songs we never forget. His chemistry with Nez & Rio is undeniable as they collab for some of the more gladiator "lets go to war" type joints. With that said, if you have a gooey center , this album might be too hard for you. if you're familiar wit Q's character, you know sometimes he says somethings to purposely disturb you, so listen with that in heart. But judge after a few listens, what yall think ?

mb

Anonymous

ShadowPrecinct

I've listened to this album front to back about ten or twelve times over the last of the couple days. First couple times, I just thought it was okay, but it wasn't until maybe the fifth or sixth listen that I was like, "Okay, this is really dope."
It is dark and I think it's a good representation of who he is as a person. Whereas good kid talks about Compton (Rosecrans etc), Q is talkin Hoover Street, East LA shit. Kendrick was like outside looking in to Oxy's inside looking out. It's content is way harder. As far as the reviewer discussing the pulls for mainstream (read: radio) success with a few joints, I don't feel like it's forced. Collard Greens gets a knock only because it's pretty old at this point, but the joint with 2 Chainz is hard. I'm not really a fan, but it has to be one of the hardest verses he's spit in his life.
Both reached back for West Coast legends (MC Eiht, Kurupt, Suga Free), so points for that.
I dig it. TDE is really doing a good job, because that Cilvia is pretty dope, too (actually like it just a little bit more as of right now).
Good rap.

ShadowPrecinct

^^ Actually, no. I downloaded the shit out of it, so I paid nothing. It wasn't until I had some time to digest it, dissect it a bit, I started to gain an appreciation for it. I don't think three listens of ANY album is enough to assess where it stands artistically. The fact that I respect it made me go buy it, as opposed to copping something and be mad because the shit sucks.

David D

So you forced yourself to like it by listening to it over and over again? After about 3 plays if its not good you should give it up. I guess after you invested money into it, you should get some enjoyment out of it though, just don't convince others to do the same

Kingfit

Shit is fire, Q really coming out as one of THE guys of this era, but his song choice was weird, his and her fiend song, and groove line could have been replaced by one of the 50 songs for sure.
all in all ranks up there with MNIMN as one of my favourite albums in the past couple years.

chris

MR.WOODALL

So far Ive only gave it one full listen. And I bought tickets to see dude at Buku Fest in the N.O. next month. If I had to chose as of right now id go for Habits and Contradictions before Oxy. Ill listen to it more tonight tho... Hopefully Ill catch it.

Jonathan

CZ

chris

Banks Of Amerika

This album is over people's head. Define Oxymoron and u will start to understand the album. His concept was better than Kendrick. He a real gangbanger and people like that good kid, cool shit now. TDE going in cause they have different types of artist. If u don't like this u don't know music.

Vandal

David

I help my wife finding alpha males for sex and I usually assist her by thrusting her hips on the penis while she's riding. Is this wrong? I mean, I'm helping fellow alphas to fulfill their natural duties. I wouldn't call my wife a slut, since she never sleeps with guys I don't approve of. Right now we have a young man living with us since October and we are very happy to fulfill all his desires. I usually work in the morning and leave my wife in the bedroom with her lover. She's not yet sure that she should have kids with him, because he is too young, and also because she's always stoned on marijuana (she says the sex feels heavenly when on weed, I don't know because I can't smoke for my ashtma). Is this considered slut-helping?

ElCharro

So this was the album that was supposed to Dethrone Kendrick and as Mac Miller stated "a far better album than Good Kid MAAD City"?????
lol ... No album has held the Significance of being from the West than GKMC since The Documentary, and thats not dick riding real substance only seen in those years when Aquemini would get a 4 out of 5 stars by these n****s when it was a classic.

guest@guest.com

X

Cold album. A little disappointed but definitely some quality tracks on here and the flow from song to song works pretty well. Probably never gonna get another Setbacks from this dude but this shit is still hot.
4/5

Anonymous

winkfunk

Anonymous

Misguided, incoherent, sub-par - 3/5, and it's me being generous.
It will be a financially successful project though with decent popularity amongst mainstream / hipster fans, especially if they drop "Hell Of A Night" as next single. Q's music was always about transmitting certain emotions and creating a vibe, and while he sometimes hit the nail on the head, it doesn't make Oxymoron more than "TDE Presents - ADLIB: The Album".
Nevertheless, the question still stands: is *really* the album that can be described with the aforementioned adjectives or Schoolboy Q itself?

Anonymous

duepayer

I agree with rain. Sequencing really hurt this album. Tracks 5-10 (sans Blind Threat and maybe Studio) lost me for a bit then the album picked up again. But by then I had already soured to it. Also the fact that we've been banging most of these songs for half a year now kinda took away from the vibe of the overall record. Some of the best tracks are bonus tracks as well. Strange that even given the extra time they didn't tighten this up. Def a bit disappointed but as an overall body of work it def still bangs. The songs that are tight more than make up for some of the missteps. I'd give it a 3.75/5

Anonymous

ocxyboy

REAL TALK

Black hippy is the new St. Lunatics. They'll fade away into obscurity soon enough. Their freefall will begin shortly after Kendrick releases his next project. No way he's ever making another album as good as the first two. They'll start selling out, look for Kendrick to start doing songs with country singers like Nelly. Schoolboy Q is the new Murphy Lee. Jay Rock can be Ali and Ab-Soul is irrelevant like that dude from the St. Lunatics that nobody remembers.

Soul-field

Some of you people are gassed up, if you give this album 5/5 or even 4.5/5. It was a hot mess of hype,noise and garbage. Weakest member of black hippy, could contribute to a group album and hope for the reunions afterwards but solo, no. 2/5

Anonymous

Anonymous

this guy just like every other rapper is just spitting nonsense. a good portion of the album sounded like incoherent noise. the beats are tight but cmon this guy isn't saying anything in these songs.
Break the bank and collard greens are the best songs and of course the song with the 2 chainz feature imo

rain

Just finished it, only like 8 out 15 songs on the album. The album is sequenced bad and the story weak, his rhymes are kinda lackluster on a lot of these songs as well. Too much pussy this pussy that for me... Habits Contradictions blows this out imo!

fuck tde

Anonymous

I don't think this review was all the way fair, there was some dark overtones on this album. Plus, thematically it followed a sequence that made sense even though ending the regular version of the album with Man of the Year might not have been the best thing but still a dope album at least 4/5 if not 4.5. Go check djbooth's review its much more fair and analytical

June

This is most disappointing of the year . I send $ 15.83 for the deluxe version and full cheat 2 of the best song didn't even make the album I don't understand how TDE fuck this up yay yay was the lead single but not on the album moshpit a.k.a banger wasn't on the album Q had perfect plan concept album based on gang history and his daughter but he shitted a brick I'm a TDE fan but for Q to compare this to doggystyle is str8 joke but I also Im mad at myself for believing in Q I thought both of his first album were so, so for here on out if it aint Kenrick Lamar or Ab-Soul Im str8 downloading TDE artist and Skeme is weak Top Dog put Oxymoron over Black lip Pastor or whatever Soul is going to name his new album for XXl mag to give album a Xl Eric Deep needs to be fired for misleading people . This heat breaking I guarantee Ice Cube will be better this bullshit I'm not to listen to this album 4-8 times to like it this shit should've be a free mixtape that why people like this album because their forcing themselves to not me Kid Ink and Stepbrothers are better .

and

hah

What none of the above are understanding is that I'm saying that the PRODUCTION ALONE warrants 4 stars, instrumental album or not. The beats are that good. Soulja Boi could wreck these beats. And Schoolboy Q's lyrics are actually underrated try actually hearing the words not listening to the songs.

drizzy!

The author of the review felt that Q's rhymes at times were wack. Again, work on the reading comprehension.
I like how I'm attacked because of my name. You insinuate that I'm some sort of a Drake stan because I simply pointed out that just because the reviewer felt that the album had "top-notch production" doesn't mean the album deserved a high score. That would only make sense if the reviewer was reviewing an instrumental album!! The reviewer found flaws with other aspects of the album, hence the score. Dumbasses all over DX, I swear.

Anonymous

just cause he doesnt agree doesn't mean he has to like drake music lol as a Q this isn't as good as setback and on equal or slightly better than habits & contradictions 3.5/4 would be an appropriate score for this album not everything deserves 4.5/5 stars and this album is far from perfect

gimme yo soul

^nigga are u 12 or are u stupid?
drizzy's point is valid, its not a fuckin instrumental album and his "dope ass rhymes" are debatable as to how good they really are. Schoolboy Q is an average ass rapper

oh

well in that case you're just fucking stupid then, because rap albums nowadays never have even good production from front to back so one with "top-notch" production is an automatic 4 compared to the rest of hip hop's output. and the Diplomats had great production on certain tracks but never a single album with as many bangers as Schoolboy Q

drizzy!

Where did I say that I didn't like the album? Dumbass. You need help with reading comprehension. He asked how an album with "top-notch production" could get a 3.5.
Shit the Diplomats had top-notch production at times I sure as hell wouldn't give any Diplomats albums a 5.

haha

alright Drizzy go eat Drake's cock. Q also happened to lace that top-notch production with some dope ass rhymes. you want that Drake shit cause you're a girly pussy man so GTFO this is gangsta rap you fag

drogadicto

Anonymous

I just want my music heard thats all, im not looking for no record deal, getting famous 'r anything like that.! so please just spare a few sec. to check me out, & if you like what you heard please SUBSCRIBE so ill know you actually listen & support
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSNK0pm4eY

G

Stop comparing this to GKMC. He and Kendrick are 2 different kinds of rappers. This is Gangsta rap, not anything near conscious. Kendrick isnt conscious either, but you can compare him to common. Compare Q to some other wild gangsta rapper. Funny cause Q is a chill person lol.

Yung

Slake

Thatereping82

my best friend's ex-wife makes $75 an hour on the computer . She has been out of work for 9 months but last month her pay was $12505 just working on the computer for a few hours. see post>>>>> WWW.Works6.COM

Anonymous

vanbiguous

Clearly HHDX doesn't know a good album when it slaps them in the face. Go home...you're drunk. Using strong words like "tarnish" and "low points" I'm really unsure what they're talking about. DX is just shooting themselves in the foot trying to seem balanced by giving clearly elite artists mediocre reviews. DX, none of my respect, peace out!

Anonymous

If the beat didnt fit Q's style then he shouldn't of chose it for his albums and you just admitted to him sounding awkward. 5 star albums have no flaws its a masterpiece this isn't bad 3.5 is fair its not even a bad score

Pierre

TDE

Anonymous

fuccya

Got some dope tracks on it.
Why even compare to Kendrick? This aint some backpack rap, no good kids, no lyricism, drugs and gangbanging and I wonder why Kendricks fans even bothered to listen. Shit supposed to be raw and it is. 4 for sure

DXFAIL

This album has no filler besides maybe that song with SZA.. it is a great album. Schoolboy Q did his thing and the production is just killer throughout this album. Q's lyrics aren't as bad as a lot of you fuckboys make them out to be, most of you don't listen to lyrics anyways and then give opinions on lyrics like you know something. GTFO

Anonymous

Black (Hiii)ppy

Honestly, I found Habits and Contradictions better. Collard Greens is a misfire. If there was no Kendrick verse, then the song fails miserably. The album had some great spots. The 2 Chainz What They Want is incredible, but 2Chainz stole the show on that song. I'm a huge TDE (Since O(D) first came out) but Q is losing steam of sorts. Setbacks has been my favorite work of his because it was edgy. But this sounds like an attempt to be radio friendly, while trying to stay edgy. That combo rarely works (ask Meek Mills forever a mixtape rapper). I give it 3.5/5 because it wasn't a bad album at all, just disappointing because he could have done way better on here.

y

Anonymous

the hype for this album was better than the album it self. the only good songs were yay yay, break the bank gangsta, man of the year. kinda wished on califonication schoolboy and asap rocky rapped like they did on brand new guy-2/5

John smith

Agree with HHDX review. It's OK, has some highlights but in 3 months it will be sitting alongside other albums that make up the collection until you stumble on it in a few years time for a spin.
The hype and intrigue peaked in the build up to release. We are left with a 3.5 album at best.
Foolishly I was anticipating something on GKMC level..... This is no doggystyle off the back of the chronic or all eyez on me off the back of dogg food.
It should be a compliment in the fact that this is how west coast fans were anticipating the 2nd major label release from TDE.

sam snead-

Ya I agree it is to early, I think Hiphopdx is close on this review though. if XXL which always gives nice reviews to interscope artists gives it a 4/5 or XL than you know something is left to be desired

vanbiguous

81 on Metacritic equates to universally well received. Rap albums don't score that shit very often. This is something that's just gotta sink in I think. It's got a lot of layers and just because it wasn't exactly what people expected doesn't mean dick. I think 4-5 months from now we'll have a better idea what fans think about this project, and I think it will generally be agreed that SBQ brought it, hold his own as an elite MC in the game.

vanbiguous

Anonymous

Anonymous

whats a flop? No one expects him to sell 200k but he will definitely be outselling artists like Ace Hood, Big Sean, French Montana, DJ Khaled, Rich Gang compilation and probably Pusha T too. 35k in pre-orders already has him ahead of Khaled and Ace Hood.

Anonymous

Champagne Papi Life

SchoolBoy Q: Worst lyricist in TDE. SZA spits better. He tries too hard to be gangsta and was never really in the streets like that. He's feels himself too much which will eventually lead to his own self-destruction and fall out with TDE.
Ab-Soul: A whinny overrated bitch. He whines about his album not being released and whines about his girlfriend taking her own life on multiple songs on other peoples albums. Just make a tribute song and shut the fuck Soul, we don't care anymore. Eventually he'll leave TDE and will blame his lack of sales on other people instead of his bitch made self.
Jay Rock: Very underrated as a lyricist, but has no personality, he's just the hard nigga in the crew. He'll never sell because he brings nothing new to the table in terms of style.
Kendrick: Definitely talented, but he's bound to fall the fuck off. His mixtapes and albums are stellar, but he'll plummet in the sales department next album and I believe the quality of his material might drop off (i.e., will eventually start selling out). He has nowhere to go but down.
Isiah Rashad: Dude is talented, but he'll always just be percieved by most as the guy who is kind of like Kendrick. He'll never have any lasting commercial success because the world doesn't need 2 Kendricks.
None of these niggas will ever reach Drake's level of success. While other artists sales are dropping Drake's opening week sales for each successive album have increased. That's because Drake and OVO are original, true to themselves and drop nothing but classics. Drake and 40 are killing the game!

Craig C

Craig C

I completely agree with CPL, except for the Drake bullshit. Ab-Soul does whine about his dead girlfriend way too much. It becomes a problem when I see you're featured on another rappers song and you spit pretty much the same verse about how much you miss your girl every time. Put all those verses together and you have an EP about how much he misses Alori.

Anonymous

"Drake doesn't always talk about failed relationships in his songs. Rarely is he talking about "relationships", he might rap about women but rarely are they relationship songs."
Doesn't he rap about going thru his girl's purse and checking her phone when she's in the bathroom?

Champagne Papi Life

2 songs? I can name 2 songs off the top of my head that appear on other peoples albums where he whines: Vic Mensa's Holy Holy and The Intro To Terrace Martin's album. That does not even include his own songs.
Drake doesn't always talk about failed relationships in his songs. Rarely is he talking about "relationships", he might rap about women but rarely are they relationship songs. He's reflective about life generally.
Soul is overrated.

Anonymous

Why would you complain about Ab-Soul being sad about his girlfriend killing herself? He only talked about it in like 2 songs. How are you gonna call Ab-Soul whiny and overrated when you're over here dickriding Drake when he's always talking about failed relationships in all of his songs?

Anonymous

Anoni

@dolla - probably salty from the tone of his stupid comment. Drake is talented but he's also a mainstream, for radio rapper, that's why he's so popular and sells out. He's not touching anyone in TDE lyrically and his music lacks substance but he makes the type of shit most people wanna hear.
TDE are not as mainstream or radio friendly and so far haven't tried to be so they will never do Drake's numbers. maybe only Kendrick. Drake will never go down as a great in hip hop, he will only be remembered as a popular artist that did the numbers but it ends there

Anonymous

Ben Dover

I hope Slaughterhouse, or just Royce ,responds on an 80 bar song about that "I dont do like the 80 bar rap, that type of s***" line.
Q's album is 3/5. The lyricism is not there and it doesn't make you think about anything but trying to emulate buffoonery. It has it's place somewhere but it ultimately ends up creating more Jordan Davis's and encouraging that behavior. Not that he did anything wrong per se but it encourage the idea that being a thug or gangsta will be rewarded for deviant behavior. Black students are becoming more and more educated and they want to break hold of that concept that you must have a intentionally rough background in order to be real. More and more black students are now getting higher graduate degrees and breaking the mold and becoming administrators. That's one real way to really piss off the racists is killing them with knowledge. There aren't doctors and engineers that are thuggin. Now is the time to challenge racists and kill their ideology that they run the world. Q's album is dope but I cannot promote that n**** s***. At least be lyrical or subliminal but that wasn't the case. Production is sick is f*** though.

DX Staff

Anonymous

Q was dumb for marketing this album as being better than GKMC. He basically set himself up for failure in the review department. That being said, this album is pretty great. It's definitely not for everybody though, this shit is way too grimy to do major numbers.

Anonymous

Kenzo

This is a straight street hip-hop album with some dope rhymes and quality production. Schoolboy Q isn't a technical rapper like Kendrick or Ab-Soul but his versatility and street-heavy background showcases some impressive lyricism barking days of 90's West Coast Gangsta rap. Some of my favorite tracks on the album are Hoover Street, Break the Bank, Prescription-Oxymoron, Gangsta, The Purge, Blind Threats, and What They Want. Los Awesome, Studio, Collard Greens, Hell of a Night, Man of the Year are good tracks as well but not the same caliber as the others. So this is another solid release for the TDE crew and also a solid street hip-hop album for the masses. 4/5

Anonymous

Scratch-E

"misfires like "Collard Greens"
"reducing tracks like Collard Greens, Los Awesome, Man of the Year and Hell of a Night to filler"
- In what world is Collard Greens a misfire?! Not to mention calling Man of the Year a filler?? Fuck outta here. Los Awesome had to grow on me, so I can see how that could go either way.
I think this album is between a 4-4.5/5. Pretty solid if you ask me. Not sure why anyone would compare any SchoolBoy Q album to GKMC. I got love for SchoolBoy, but he's just not on Kendrick level.

RECOUNT

all the comments are right.. this review is so off. Q dropped a great gangsta rap album, something nobody is doing. he is like a modern day 50 cent to me. not that 50 has fallen off yet cause 50 is still dropping the occasional banger. I give it a 4.5 easy

Grooveh Q

Dee Moe

Santigo

2.5/5, maybe 3/5 to me...3-4 bangers and a ton of filler. No Cohesion to the album and his energy on the record was too over the top. From the TDE camp, I really have no interest in hearing Solo's from anybody but Jay Rock, Kendrick & that chic SZA

Sam Snead

The problem with internet reviews is they are too soon, it's nice to hear an album a couple times through and if it is entertaining enough give it another listen a few days later. I give it a 4/5 right now but as it gets a couple weeks old it will prolly drop to a 3.5/5. It has some solid tracks but not as good as habits & contradictions(4/5) but it might grow on me after a couple listens but usually I lose interest. Take MMLP 2 for example, the first couple times I listened I just liked it because it was new material and would have gave it 4/5 but after a couple weeks 3.5/5

Sam Snead

BS, XXL gave it it's highest ranking of XXL and The Source gave it 4.5/5, when it came out. You can push sales on hype and good moves easily but making people believe it's a classic for any period of time is not likely if it's not close. Sure you have the people that thought The Carters were classics but most of those people don't anymore.

antomurray7

AnTTTi

Zach

Since Q was so intent on beating GKMC and didn't really create a classic here, it gets 4 stars from me. I like the features being pretty much all West Coast, but the TDE features were way too weak. Kendrick and Jay Rock should be able to spit better verses than they did. Studio and The Purge are weak tracks, but Blind Threats and Grooveline 2 make up for them I think. All in all, I'd put this above Habits, but not as good as Setbacks and definitely not as good as either of Kendrick's last 2 albums. It's also missing that Ab-Soul feature for the 3rd Druggys And Hoes and that's disappointing.

fair

i dont think setbacks is close to this album and I love the song Studio (not that it's great, but it is catchy as fuck). this album is so well produced.. he used kendricks technique of two songs in one a few times, and you get a lot of great rap for just one album.

Anonymous

FLOP

Top dogg need to drop q fast, dude does not have the passion and hunger like Kendrick, this was the most hype up album since Kendrick gkmc, and this what dude delivered,?Isaiah mixtape better than q's album, q just doesn't have it, dude too lazy and too high to keep up with Kendrick,Q JUST NEED TO RIDE WITH HIS HOMIE ASAP ROCKY, because asap on his level unlike Kendrick, Kendrick is better and more mature.

...?

OUCH!

4/5 Its not better then GKMC like he said but its better then 99% of albums that have came out this year. The pharell track "Los Awesome" you have to hear it a few times to get in to it cause sonically is so different then the rest of the album and the song " The Purge" i dont like at all. didn't fit the them of the album at all. Over all its a good album.